Countdown To the World Championships: Get To Know UP Manila B
IT WAS ROBERT’S BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY!
Save the best for last, right? Hehe. UP Manila B is the duo of Benjamin Espina and Robert Angelo Totanes. This team debuted in the Saint Paul Manila - Intervarsities. Though the team fell short of winning the tournament, the rounds were very much reflective of the potential that an agnostic and atheist can bring to the table.
Robert Totanes is one of UP Manila’s investments for the future. Despite being only in his first year of debate, he reached the octofinals of the National Debate Championship. His drive to improve himself is simply impeccable. When not debating, this student from the UP College of Medicine enjoys going to the gym to further promote his pet project - Project Robert Asenso. Belated Happy Birthday!
Benjamin Espina is a returning debater. After leaving the scene for over two years, Benj came back in a relatively big way by reaching the finals of the Philippine Intercollegiate Debate Championship as an adjudicator earlier this year. His team also reached the quarterfinals of the National Debate Championships. During the Saint Paul Manila Intervarsities, Benj was named the top speaker of the tournament.
+The part where Benj answers his own questions+ haha
How do you feel about representing UP Manila and the Philippines in the World Championship?
It brings me great pride and honor to be representative to the proud debating tradition of UP Manila. I’m very excited to compete against the best of the best and I’d really want to see how well we’ll fare.
What do you seek to achieve and what have you done to improve your chances?
I’ve been training a lot during the lead up to the Worlds. It’s really great that I get to train against debate living legends like the guys from UP Manila A (Yves and Aids). They make every training session a learning experience. Aside from training, our team has also been shopping like crazy.
What can you say about your teammate?
With much confidence, I can say that Robert is one of the best debaters in UP Manila right now. The fact that he’s new makes me excited on what he can do in the future. He has achieved more than what I was able to come up with during my first year as a debater and this chance to go to the Worlds before his rookie year even comes to a close is a golden opportunity for him to develop his skills further.
Other than the debates, what do you look forward to the most in Thailand?
Well, I’m looking forward to Robert treating us to somewhere nice! Yup, Mr. Totanes has in fact committed to buying us dinner! *clap clap*
What is your message to all your supporters and fans?
Thanks for visiting my blog and wishing me luck in everything that I do. I’ll keep you guys posted via this blog and Twitter. I hope you will all be able to experience the World Championships with me. Take care, everyone!
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Nice… errr.. explicit intrapersonal communication. I’ll do that more frequently from now on. Lolz.
Congrats and Go–Good luck to all of you!(whew) Let the frickin’ Thais taste the intellectual verbosity of Philippine goodness gracious! Whoohoo! Screw you, Thailand! ‘Nough of your crispy 24th SHIT games wtf! Eat this yaddah-yaddah blah-blah [dirty finger here], [more dirty fingers here], [throws a bag of carabao poop on my laptop scre—-
Go Benj! Whoo! (waves a cartolina banner with bold ‘Screw JC’ painted on it)
Bring home the BACORN! (Thais can’t pronounce ‘-on’ word endings properly. So yeah. Where’s my cellphorn?)
Lol.
@ neil… “Screw JC” ? ? ? ? ?
@aajao - ‘Screw JC’. ‘Screw Jharice Cempengco’. :p
manlilibre si robert?
*YEY*
good luck, Benj
and best wishes for the new year!
Go! Go! Go Kuya Benj! With Robert as your partner and your new atheista shirt, you’ll surely rock at the Worlds! Good luck and god bless!!! Nail ‘em!
Wishing you all the best. You can do it.